Brian Ashcraft

According to Chinese newspaper The People's Daily, a 25 year-old married woman named QianQian met a man called Qinmou while gaming online (the paper doesn't specify the game) last August. At first their relationship was innocuous, with Qinmou giving her in-game items and helping her.

Eventually, they met and started a real-life affair. But by late last year, QianQian wanted to break up. She had fallen in love with another player.

Qinmou, 24, became jealous and threatened to release a sex tape they made together if QianQian didn't pay him the equivalent of nearly US$8,000—approximately US$3,100 of it was for emotional pain, and approximately $4,700 was for the in-game gear and support.

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QianQian wrote him a check, and then went to the authorities. Qinmou, who's unemployed, was picked up for extortion. Game over.